May 2008 - Newsletter 88

Memory Lane 'Hoe Down'
During the interval at our recent Basingstoke concert a gentleman mentioned he had seen us on television a few nights before. He described the scene and it clicked that this was a clip from a series we did back in 1978 for the BBC. The programme was called 'Hoe Down' and was a knock out competition between 8 teams of Young Farmers from all over the country. We travelled to Scotland, Wales, East Anglia, Cornwall and Hereford for the heats and a great time was had by all. Ted Moult was chief judge, we assisted and Lance Percival played the part of the city gent who tip-toed through the cow pats with great caution. Some of the games were spectacular. In the final they gave these 18 year old young farmers brand new combine harvesters to race. Forget Formula 1 this was fantastic stuff. I'm not sure Health & Safety would allow it these days but that's progress. We also had a lot of laughs watching the youngsters trying to guide porkers where the porkers didn't want to go. You should try it some time. A determined pig is virtually unstoppable.

Although the gentleman who told me about the TV appearance was very diplomatic in his description I got the distinct impression that, whoever was doing the presentation, was taking the rise out of TV programmes of yesteryear. Let me tell you, Mr. Presenter, that this was an original idea, a lot of fun and watched by millions and if the best thing that current TV can throw up is to sit someone down in front of a camera to criticise the past then this shows a distinct lack of imagination and is a sample of how TV has gone down the pan of late.

Yetminster Fair 'A Proper Dorset Day Out'
What could be better than a fun day out meeting friends and at the same time raising thousands of pounds for local causes? It is quite amazing the distances people travel just to be in Yetminster on magical Fair Day. There a quite a few village fairs about these days but this is one of the originals and one of the very best.

Yetties LPs and Cassettes
My stock is quite low at the moment so if you have any LPs out there just collecting dust and would like to find them a happy home and raise money for a good cause in the process pass them to me and I will do exactly that.

Tucked away in the loft I have the following: Our Friends The Yetties; Dorset Is Beautiful; The World of The Yetties; All At Sea; The Yetties of Yetminster; The Village Band; Up Market and The Yetties. If you would like any of these to add to your collection please ring 01935 814611. They cost £5 each plus £1 P. & P. Cheques to Halsway Manor.

A little while ago a lady accosted me in the street (lucky boy) and asked if I had any cassettes tucked away anywhere because her car didn't have a CD player. This prompted me to have a sort out and this is what I found. 2 copies of The Sound of Cricket, 3 In Praise of Dorset and 2 Dorset My Dorset. If you would like any of these they cost £5 each and a cheque made out to Halsway Manor will secure them for you. This includes post and packing.

Yetties Music Club
We have decided to run a one off Music Club at The Weavers, Westbury, Sherborne on Wednesday 9th of July starting at the usual time of 8p.m. This is a small venue, about 50 people will fill it, so we will have to print tickets. First come, first served. They will cost £6 each and can be obtained from Pete Shutler, Maybank, Marston Road, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 4BJ. Tel. 01935 814667. Cheques payable to 'The Yetties' please.

Alexander Korbakov Concert
Pete is helping to organise a concert on the 1st of June at The Digby Hall, Sherborne, 7.30p.m., by Alexander Korbakov the great Russian accordion player. He has been to our Music Club a couple of times and it appears he has ten fingers on each hand. His performances are a mix of classical works and folk melodies and for accordion fans this concert is an absolute must.

Alexander is coming here after working in the USA and this will be his first appearance on his tour of the UK.

'His virtuoso playing, his charisma and his quite charm make Alexander a performer of major significance in the accordion world'.

Tickets £10. For more information give Pete a ring on 01935 814667.

Doing the Dorset Dirt
In 2006 I rode The Dorset Dirt, a 50 kilometre of road cycle ride, to raise money for two charities, 'The Children of Fiji' and 'The Dorset Association for the Disabled'. You were all very generous and sponsored my little legs to the tune of over £700. This year I am going to attempt it again to help fund our development of Halsway Manor Library. With the arrival of The Peter Kennedy collection we have enough books etc. to fill the current library 3 times over and something needs to be done fairly rapidly about the situation. Cynthia and I are sorting, repairing and cataloguing the books and putting the relevant information on a database to help research into our heritage. We feel the music, songs, dances, folklore and traditions of Britain are well worth preserving.